Breaking News: Crest revised

Written by Tunica Times
Tuesday, 03 May 2011 13:31

The Mississippi River is now expected to crest at 48 feet at Memphis on May 10, revised upward three feet yesterday and some 14 feet over flood stage.Heavy rainfall in the Mississippi-Ohio river valleys in recent weeks has brought near record levels up and down the river. The highest Memphis crest on record was in 1937, at 48.7 feet.

May 2 update:

Seventeen wildlife officers, 10 members of the Homeland Security's Strikeforce 3, and a few scaly predators are patroling the west side of the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee around the clock.Levee Board Emergency Manager Jamie Roberson said alligators had been spotted cruising along the banks of the levee. Despite this ominous development, a few people are still trying to fish from atop the levee or cross over into the Cut-off camps. "The closing of the levee (Friday) caused chaos," Roberson commented.Major Leron Weeks of the Tunica County Sheriff's Department said two had been arrested for trespassing over the weekend.All Tunica casinos are now closed until floodwaters drop back to 40 feet on the Memphis gauge, the point at which the resorts can safely reopen, CVB director Webster Franklin said Monday.Harrah's two hotels east of the levee, the RV park, golf course and convention center remain open, as do various small hotels in the the casino area.Harrah's and Gold Strike have announced they will continue to pay their employees.Some 36 evacuees are being housed at a shelter at the Henderson Rec Center and another 10-15 are getting meals there.